Take a break out of Marrakech to the rocky desert of Agafay, a hilly barren landscape in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. The Agafay Desert is a playground for quad bikers and buggy enthusiasts with a backdrop of often snow-capped peaks. Please note that The Agafay desert is quite bland compared to the Sahara desert of Erg Chebbi in Merzouga or Erg Chigaga in Mhamid.
Agafay is a barren rocky desert located at 30 kilometers southwest of Marrakech and behind the fertile Atlas Mountains. During this amazing day trip, you will discover an unspoiled nature of desert and scraps area in a perfect excursion from Marrakech if you don’t have time to go to the immense dunes of the Sahara Desert.
Leave the bustling city of Marrakech behind and take a wonderful day trip to the desert of Agafay and Atlas Mountains out of Marrakesh to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and to watch the landscape change as you move through the rural farmland.
You will enjoy the tranquility of the desert and the countryside. A hilly barren landscape in the foothills of the Atlas to Agafay Desert is a playground for quad bikers and buggy enthusiasts with a backdrop of often snow-capped peaks. Next you’ll pause for tea at Lake Takerkoust, a popular weekend recreational lake for locals from the city. Boating, swimming and sailing are popular activities here.
You will be picked up from your accommodation at 9.00am and drive to the west of Marrakech. The road is shaded by lush vegetation, olive and orange orchards driving through completely different scenery of stone desert, barren light brown plateau, Bedouin village, Oasis then high hills with panoramic views on the High Atlas.
The Agafay Desert's landscape offers up wild flowers among other flora and fauna which make it a scenic and a wonderful desert experience. However in the summer and autumn months it looks similar to the real desert overlooking the majestic snow-capped high Atlas Mountains views in the background.
Please note that The Agafay desert is quite rocky bland compared to the more popular Sahara desert experience at Erg Chebbi or Erg Chigaga as you need a minimum of 3 days and 2 nights for that trip.
Travel through the High Atlas Mountains; enjoy the lush forest area and the sight of Berber homes.
Discover the hidden delights of a desert camp in the desert of Agafay.
Savor a magical sunset or dine under the stars while enjoying a musical performance by a local band (in case you would like to spend an overnight).
Sublime experience through the High Atlas Mountains creating an absolutely magnificent spectacle.
Tripadvisor previous guests reviews
We were booked and had paid a deposit for a trip late March of 2020, which was canceled due to the pandemic. Said, the owner of MD, went to extraordinary lengths to refund the deposits for our travel group of six from the U.S. Apparently the Moroccan banking system is not "user friendly" when it comes to wire transfers for reasons unclear to me. Nevertheless, Said managed to refund all our money using a very creative approach. We would DEFINITELY travel with MD in the future given this level of honesty and effort; but we do hope that MD will accept credit cards rather than wires in the future. Thank You Said & Morocco Discovery!
Three of use booked a 19-day with Moroccan Discovery Holidays for March, 2020 and paid a 50% deposit. When Morocco closed its borders due to Covid. Initially we put our trip on hold and asked Said to hold our deposit. Said agreed to this. When it appeared holiday travel would likely go on for many months we asked for a refund. Said again agreed but the Moroccan banks, being what they are, refused to release all of our deposit. With some pressure on the bank from us and Said's help we did receive 100% of our deposit.
We planned our April-May 2020 trip to Morocco in the late fall of 2019 and worked with Said at Morocco Discovery. We were taking our adult children and their partners and Said was patient and added everything we wanted and more. One month prior to travel we were surprised by the pandemic, with flights cancelled, borders closed and no idea when we could travel again. Said remained as diligent, helpful and honest throughout the arduous process of refunding our downpayment. We were thrilled with Said, and his company's commitment to customer service and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone travelling to Morocco. As soon as it is safe again it is our intent to rebook with them!
From their already outstanding reviews when I started working with Sayd, this was an amazing experience. I got prompt friendly responses to every question I had and as this was our first trip to Africa I had a lot of questions. The price was incredibly reasonable - I don’t know how they can put the trip together on this budget. We stayed at amazing Riads in every city with excellent food every evening and great breakfasts - our driver was AMAZING- he was always ready wherever we were 1 minute before we needed him. The prearranged guides were the best. If you are going to Morocco - you want to go with Morocco Discovery and you definitely want a driver.
I have to admit, when I first started looking at using a local Moroccan tour company for our trip I was very nervous. After having toured Morocco for 11 days with Morocco Discovery Holidays, I would HIGHLY recommend them without any hesitation. Said worked with me for over a year to come up with a customized trip that included everything we (2 couples) wanted to see and more. Every change I made to the itinerary was completed within hours of my request.. and I made many. Said is very prompt at responding to e-mails and questions. Having a private driver was definitely the ideal way to see Morocco. Our driver, Mohamed was amazing. From the minute he met us at the airport (with sweets to welcome us) until he dropped us off at the port for our journey to Spain, Mohamed could not do enough for us. Mohamed is funny, engaging, very knowledgeable and was totally flexible and I felt very safe at all times, even on the curvy, narrow road. If I wanted him to turn around so I could take a picture, he would…and Did!! LOL Our Riads were beautiful and the meals that were included were some of the best meals we had in Morocco. I cannot say enough about the 5* service and attention we received from Morocco Discovery Holidays and Mohamed during our trip.
Mr Said provided us with a very pleasant and safe driver (Mustafa) as well as a new van, so we had a very enjoyable round trip Casablanca-Rabat-Fes- Marrakech-Casablanca. Local guides accompanied us in Fes and Marrakech, and we could have had other tours but we opted to spend more time walking around the towns. The Riads selected for us were very satisfactory and service all round was great. No hesitation at all in recommending Morocco Discovery.
Said arranged an excellent holiday for us. We began with one of the standard trips as our starting point and adapted it to better suit our needs with an added night here and there and starting in Marrakesh rather than Casablanca. Everything went very smoothly from start to finish.The choice of the Riads in which we stayed was great, as were the guides that were arranged for us. Abdoul proved to be a first rate driver - safe, dependable, friendly and very professional. We felt very comfortable being driven by him and we enjoyed his company.